Hades II is good on Switch, but fantastic on Steam Deck and Switch 2
Hades II from Supergiant Games is finally available on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC after leaving early access today. Ahead of its launch, I've been playing the full 1.0 release of Hades II on Nintendo Switch, Hades II - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, and the Steam version on both my Steam Decks and ROG Ally to cover how the final build scales across handhelds, the platform differences, and more. I already had played loads of Hades II's early access version from its initial release. Hades II features cross platform saves, and I've been syncing my progress across all devices as well.
In addition to going over Hades II's Switch and Switch 2 impressions, I also have tested the load times across devices, compared the visuals, and have a few different Hades II full game Steam Deck recommended settings for playing docked and handheld.
Hades II Nintendo Switch 2 Edition impressions
With the original Hades, I played and adored it across Switch and Steam initially before also playing it a lot on PS5 and Xbox. Having seen how it scaled across different platforms, I was curious to see what would happen with the sequel once it comes to consoles. When Hades II was announced for Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch, the Creator's Voice video mentioned 60fps, and I was a bit disappointed given the Switch 2 supports 120fps. Thankfully, Supergiant Games confirmed that Hades II would support 120fps docked, but it was capped to 60fps handheld with both modes outputting at 1080p. I've now spent over 20 hours just with Hades II on Nintendo Switch 2, and it is a fantastic release, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed with the lack of 120fps support handheld. Given how Hades II can hit a locked 90fps on Steam Deck OLED, I was hoping to see a 120fps mode handheld.
I was curious to see how Hades II would end up when I actually played it considering I ran into noticeable issues with the original game on Switch (1). Right now, Hades II targets 1080p 60 handheld and 1080p 120fps when played docked. I did not notice any major issues in the time I've spent with Hades II on Switch 2 so far. In fact, Hades II has been patched a few days prior to launch on Switch and Switch 2, and I didn't run into any issues before said patch either. Hades II feels very polished on Switch 2, but I can't help but feel disappointed at no 120fps mode handheld and no 1440p or 4K UI support when played docked. I'm not sure if this is an engine restriction with how the Switch and Switch 2 handle docking and undocking, but that's basically my only complaint with the Switch 2 version.
A few more Nintendo Switch 2-related things I want to cover are how well the Steam cross save works, the fast load times, and the ability to turn up the rumble even more in the in-game settings.
Hades II Nintendo Switch port impressions
Hades II for Nintendo Switch is a lot like Hades 1 so far, but I actually ran into fewer noticeable performance issues. For playing handheld, it is great on the Switch OLED, but docked isn't an amazing experience. When I played Hades on Switch 1 years ago, I had a 1080p monitor for playing my Switch docked. Today, I use a 1440p monitor for Switch and Switch 2. Playing a 720p game on a 1440p monitor is definitely not a great experience. This is another situation where I wish the UI rendered at 1080p docked despite rendering the gameplay at 720p, but I'm not sure if this is an engine restriction or what. If you were hoping to get a good handheld Hades II experience on the Switch 1, I think it delivers that.
The big issue with Hades II on Switch 1 aside from the docked resolution is the load times. They are the longest by far, and really get annoying when you want to quickly boot up Hades II to do a run. I cover the load times below, but there is a huge difference between Hades II's load times on Switch and Switch 2.
Hades II full release PC features
Hades II on PC has a lot of visual options and settings I did not expect to see. It isn't a PC version with a ton of graphics options, but I was surprised to see ultrawide support included. I was even able to use this on my 1440p 16:9 monitor to test by running Hades II at 2560 x 1080. While there are many screens that were clearly designed around a 16:9 aspect ratio, the actual gameplay supports ultrawide perfectly. Beyond that, Hades II lets you swap between fullscreen and borderless fullscreen display modes, toggle v-sync, adjust brightness, the default display, graphics quality (the amount of visual effects), and resolution. The graphics quality option lets you use low, medium, and high. Hades II supports up to 4K and even has proper 16:10 support on the Steam Deck. Beyond visuals, Hades II lets you adjust interface opacity and what controller prompts to use: keyboard & mouse, auto, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Hades II full release Steam Deck impressions and recommended settings
Hades II is already Steam Deck Verified and even since it literally hit early access, it has been amazing on Valve's handheld. I've played it since then across almost every major update and have no complaints with how Hades II runs and looks on my Steam Deck LCD and OLED models. On the former, you get a locked 60fps experience while the latter gives you a locked 90fps experience. I was curious to see if I could push things and aim for a good docked experience as well as seeing if I could downsample while playing handheld.
On Steam Deck when playing at 1440p docked on my monitor, I was able to get over 100fps consistently including boss fights. It seems like the demanding areas of Hades II are the Crossroads (the hub) and when you have to select a boon, not during actual gameplay involving combat and movement. When playing at 2560 x 1080 (21:9), I was able to play with a 144fps target rather well. Again, the major drops were only in the hub. If you are ok playing at 60fps docked, you can easily aim for 1440p and stick to it or go for 1080p and 144fps. As for if you want to downsample when playing handheld, you will not get a locked 90fps when playing at 1920 x 1200 (16:10), but you can get a good 80fps experience. This is really overkill if you absolutely want the best possible portable experience.
Hades II full release ROG Ally impressions
When playing Hades II on the ROG Ally, I wanted to aim for a 1080p and 120fps experience. The 25W turbo mode on my ROG Ally Z1 Extreme easily delivers a 1080p 120fps experience with the default (high) graphics quality setting. When playing at the 15W performance mode, there were drops below 120 very often, but VRR helped a lot. I would stick to 25W for a stable experience if you want to play at 120fps. When testing the "Silent" 10W mode, I was able to get a mostly solid 1080p 60fps experience after turning down the graphics, but not at high. In the end, when playing on ROG Ally, I stuck to using the 25W mode for a 1080p 120fps portable experience instead of compromising performance and visuals.
I did run into two crashes on ROG Ally in the five hours I tested Hades II on it, but both happened when I was taking screenshots while playing. I didn't have any crashes during gameplay otherwise.
Hades II Switch 2 vs PC vs Switch load time differences
When testing load times, I wanted to measure how long it takes to reach the main menu when launching Hades II and also how long it takes to load your save file into character control. If you play on Switch or Switch 2 with cross save enabled, you will need to add 2-5 seconds on top of the results to load a save in the table below. Steam handles cross save instantly compared to the 2-5 seconds it took on Switch and Switch 2. I had the game installed to the SD card on Switch, internal storage on Switch 2, and the internal storage on both ROG Ally and my Steam Decks.
| Platform / Test | Dashboard to title screen | Loading a save/run |
| Switch | 25 | 9 |
| Switch 2 Edition | 10 | 4-5 |
| Steam Deck | 15-20 | 3-4 |
| ROG Ally | 18-25 | 3-4 |
The Switch 2 Edition of Hades II boots up the quickest, but it is slower in actually loading a run than the PC handhelds. It still is a marked improvement over the Switch version. Having played all of these versions for review, the Switch 1 for its initial load was the only one that stood out as really long.
Which version of Hades II should you buy?
Hades II on Nintendo Switch: If you only have a Switch or have a Switch and want to only play on the go, Hades II on Switch 1 is a good experience. It also looks great on the Switch OLED screen. You can also upgrade for free to the Switch 2 Edition if you get a Switch 2 later on.
Hades II on Nintendo Switch 2: The Switch 2 Edition of Hades II is excellent and it feels amazing to play docked as long as you are ok with softer visuals if you play on a 1440p or 4K screen.
Hades II on Steam: If you already had it in early access or mainly play on PC, the Steam version is the way to go with how amazing it looks on the Steam Deck OLED and also how it delivers 1080p 120fps on the ROG Ally in handheld.
Hades II on Switch 2 and Steam: Since Hades II has cross save which has worked brilliantly even pre-release, I actually recommend this option if you play on both platforms and are able to buy both versions. It isn't essential, but you will be able to get the best portable experience with the Steam Deck OLED and also get a great 120fps docked experience with the Switch 2 assuming you don't like docking your Steam Deck. Having enjoyed Hades 1 like this, I'm glad to be able to do it again with Hades II thanks to Supergiant Games implementing cross save again between Nintendo and PC platforms. This is the option for Hades sickos and I know I've been one of those for years now.
Which is the best portable version of Hades II?
Regardless of where you play Hades II's 1.0 launch, you will get a good experience. If you play on Steam Deck OLED, you get the best portable experience and if you only play on Switch 2, you still get a fantastic overall experience thanks to 120fps when docked and a solid 60fps handheld experience. If you have a Steam Deck OLED, I recommend playing Hades II there. If you have a Steam Deck LCD though, the Switch 2 is a better experience with its higher resolution and larger screen. If you play on multiple devices, I still recommend getting Hades II on both Steam and Switch (2) so you can sync your save across and get access to this incredible game across Switch, Switch 2, and Steam.
Hades II is now available on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, Epic).